Law, Rights and Public Policy· Advanced level

This is the field where students most often miss by timing rather than ability.

In Canada, the LSAT is offered on set dates and you must register in advance, and most law schools want your result before their deadline, which typically falls in the autumn or early winter before a September start. Ontario law school applications are made through the central application centre's law school service; other provinces have their own arrangements. Articling positions are applied for during the degree, on their own recruitment timetable.

In Ghana, LLB admission follows the institution's own timetable, and the professional stage at the Ghana School of Law has its own separate entry process and dates. Find out both now, even if the second one is years away, because it affects what result you need from the first.

Build one calendar covering the whole sequence, with reminders.

Write from your written work, not from your feelings. Reference a specific brief you wrote, what position you took, and what you now think you got wrong. That is more convincing than describing a lifelong interest in justice.

Every claim should be true and checkable. This is a regulated profession, and both systems assess character and suitability before allowing anyone to practise. An exaggeration discovered later is far more serious here than in other fields.

If your programme interviews, expect to be asked to defend a position and then to argue the opposite. Practise being told you are wrong without becoming defensive.

Ask referees who have read your writing, not people who like you. Give them your briefs and your deadlines.

This is one of the longest and most expensive routes, and the costs continue past graduation into examinations, professional stage fees and licensing.

In Ghana, look at the government scholarship secretariat, district assembly support, the institution's own aid, the national students loan scheme, and family, community or employer sponsorship. Ask what the professional stage itself costs, separately from the degree.

In Canada, look at provincial student aid, entrance and in-course awards, faculty bursaries, and paid summer work. Articling is normally paid, but positions are competitive and pay varies widely by employer and location.

Record each option with its official page, eligibility, documents and closing date. Nobody legitimate asks for a payment to secure a scholarship or a place.

Finishing the degree does not make you a lawyer. The professional stage does.

In Ghana, after the LLB comes professional training at the Ghana School of Law and then call to the Bar. Newly called lawyers commonly start in chambers or in-house, doing research, drafting and document review long before they run anything themselves. Litigation, corporate, land and family work are very different day to day.

In Canada, after the law degree you complete your provincial licensing requirements, including examinations and a period of supervised practice through articling or an equivalent programme. First roles are typically in small firms, government, in-house teams or community legal clinics, and the early work is research, drafting and document review too.

In both countries the first years are long hours and small pieces of large matters. People progress by being accurate and by writing clearly, which is exactly what you have been practising.

Ask a mentor to interview you, push back hard on your reasoning, and tell you where you became defensive rather than precise.

Good backups here use the same skills and are real work. Licensed paralegal practice, where it is regulated as in Ontario. Policy and public administration through a political science, economics or development degree, often with a master's later. Compliance and regulatory roles in banks and companies. Court administration. Legal research and NGO advocacy work.

If the professional stage is the bottleneck, plan for it in advance rather than treating it as a formality, and know what you would do if you did not get through on the first attempt.